A Valentine’s-inspired wedding dress show at Ryman Healthcare’s Logan Campbell Village is providing the perfect opportunity for residents to share memories of their romantic day.

But for Emma Muller, it has also turned into an opportunity to celebrate her late daughter Nicola, who died 19 years ago at the age of 37.

“It should be a bit of fun. I think she’d get a real kickout of it,” says Emma.

“I threw out my own wedding dress, but I have got my daughter’s wedding dress so I said I could wear that. And that’s when the story came out.”

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Nicola passed away from kidney disease leaving Emma to support Nicola’s husband while he went to work and help raise Nicola’s two sons, who were aged almost five and 21 months at the time.

While Nicola, a former air stewardess, had been unwell for a longtime, her pregnancies had exacerbated her symptoms, says Emma. Her death, however, came as a huge shock.

“I’d gone to see her the day before and she looked terrible. The last thing she said to me was ‘I love you, Mum.’

“I’d taken the boys home with me to give her a break, and the next day I got the call that she’d died. Her body just shut down.”

Emma is grateful to her husband Lindsay and her friends who rallied around and helped her get through it.

“It was a pretty hard time. My friends were absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t have done it without Lindsay and my friends.”

Nicola’s wedding dress is a stunning ivory silk two-piece comprising of a halter-neck patterned bodice and ankle-length slender-fit skirt, with a delicate veil which she wore from the waist.

Emma had packed it away after she died and only now feels able to take it out and look at it.

“I’d just popped it away and couldn’t bear to look at it.

“It’s just sad really and the saddest thing is Lindsay and I have missed out on a life with a daughter. But I try not to think about that too much. I am grateful to have our son, grandchildren and lots of lovely nieces and nephews and family support.”

Emma says she invited her grandsons over on the 19^th anniversary of their mum’s passing last month to go through the memory box and share stories.

“She was very, very vivacious, my daughter. You’d know when she walked into the room, because the whole room just lit up. Everybody loved her. She just loved life.

“The boys are a credit to her really. I’m very proud of them.”

Emma says Nicola’s wedding was a joyful occasion held on St Patrick’s Day at their home, complete with Irish dancers. She posed for photos down the road at Shelly Beach.

Poignantly, this later became the spot where Nicola’s ashes were scattered.

While Emma had thrown away her own dress, she had kept the sleeve cuffs which Nicola had made into a garter for her special day.

Since the village wedding dress show was announced, and Emma’s revelation came out, she discovered a few fellow residents had also lost daughters, including her friend Jacqui, a skilled seamstress, who she asked to make some small adjustments to the dress so it would fit better.

“I’m not the only one who’s lost a daughter. There are lots of stories here in the village.

“Now I’m very happy to wear the dress. I think it’s a tribute to her, even though she’s not here. We’re quite similar – bubbly, worry-free… I think she would get a real kick out of it!”

And while Emma doesn’t have her actual wedding dress, she is about to celebrate a very special anniversary with husband Lindsay – their 60^thwedding anniversary on 2 April.

“It doesn’t feel like 60 years, it just seems like the other day!”

Logan Campbell Village Manager Leah Hill said the wedding dress show was more than just a celebration of love.

“It’s a celebration of memories, family, and the bonds that hold us together, Leah said.

“Emma’s courage in sharing Nicola’s story just proves what a special community we have here.

“We feel privileged to support moments like these.”